Native Son: Subject Matter; Themes; Characters and Characterization

Subject Matter

Richard Wright’s Native Son is an episode of racial dichotomy between the white oppressors against the oppressing blacks. In the novel, Wright employs the effects of racism on the oppressors as well as the oppressed and Bigger Thomas being the victim of this prejudiced civilization.

Thematic Analysis

1. Racial Discrimination

The racial segregation in the American society of the 1940s, especially in the southern states is the main thrust of this novel. The writer himself, being black, had his own share of the discrimination, the repression and the shame inflicted daily on the blacks in that period. Despite the freedom charter the Americans were so proud about, they imposed the most brutal deprivations on their black compatriots, as if the constitution of the country did not apply to them. In Wright’s society, the blacks are so subjugated that they come to accept their limits. There are separate schools, church, hospital, recreation centers and activities, transportation and even market. The blacks live in the ghetto while the whites live in the posh part of the cities. They are not gainfully employed, made to do the menial jobs in the society ‘All I do is work, work like a dog!